Page 84 of Not in My Book

He took a deep breath and moved his elbow so his position mirrored mine. “When my parents were still together, my dad would drag my mom to some corporate holiday party on Christmas Eve so I’d be in the apartment by myself. I’d go to bed early and maybe read a book.”

My heart split open. “Well, what about after they divorced? Did your mom do anything special?”

“They traded off holidays. When I was with my dad, it was the same thing. When I was with my mom,” he smiled at the memory, “we had a really quiet Christmas. She’d make homemade hot chocolate and would have gotten some cookies from Levain Bakery earlier in the day. We never sat around and waited until midnight, but we’d watch the classics.Rudolph, Frosty …Even when I was in high school. She was sick and I … I couldn’t say no to her.”

“She seems like she was a great mom.”

“God, the best. She would’ve liked you a lot.”

“Yeah?”

His smile widened. “Big time. She would’ve told me to be nicer to you.”

“Well, at least youknowyou weren’t the nicest to me.”

“I should’ve been,” he said softly. His hand reached out to touch one of my curls, rubbing it between his two fingers. He focused on my hair, but I studied him in the low light with a pounding heart. Adrenaline rushed through me as I imagined him tugging me closer, onto him, like we’d been at his place.

The timer for the cookies brought us out of our silence and I reluctantly stood. “I—I better go check on them,” I stuttered out. Being this close to Aiden had such an immense effect on me, I lost any sense of self.

The cookies turned out to be adisaster.We had forgotten to put parchment paper down so the bottoms were burnt, and I might’ve preset the oven alittletoo high thinking they would cook faster. But instead they turned hard as rocks the minute they cooled down.

I still placed them on a plate and poured two glasses of milk for Aiden and me. I set them on the table next to my laptop and said, “Voilà.”

Aiden sat forward to grab one. He eyed it before knocking it against my coffee table. “Huh. Wonder what would’ve happened if we put them in the fridge for an hour.”

“Oh, fuck off. They can’t be that bad.” I snatched one from the plate and dunked it in the milk. I hesitated before I bit into it. “Delicious,” I managed.

I suffered through a few more bites before Aiden pointed at my kitchen and said, “Spit it out.”

I rushed to the kitchen and called out, “I’ll get the Oreos.”

I also grabbed some blankets on my way back. Aiden and I cozied up, side by side on my couch, our thighs pressed against each other, watching the movie. I tried my best to stay focused on George Bailey, but all I could feel was the heat of Aiden’s muscular thigh against mine. His touch sent a chill through my whole body and I craved more. But we still had nearly forty minutes left in the movie and an hour to go until Christmas.

“What do you want for Christmas?” I whispered, turning to face Aiden. The only light in the room was from my laptop screen and the twinkle lights. I could barely make out the sharp angles of his face or his full lips.

“I haven’t thought about it,” he said.

“No letters to Santa?”

“No.” His lips quirked. His green eyes flickered down to my mouth before searching my eyes. “Right now I feel like I have everything I need.”

His face inched closer, our noses nudging against each other. I inhaled sharply, as his breath fanned against my face, his lips suddenly so close to mine. I could already feel the heat and softness of him. His eyelashes fanned across his cheek, and I marveled for just a second how beautiful he was. I’d been so stupid to run out on him that first time. I was terrified of another heartbreak, but if today had proved anything it’s that Aiden would be careful with me. He’d suffer tourist crowds and make reservations just in case. He could be a romance hero if he really wanted to.

Our lips had just barely touched each other when someone started banging at my door.

I jumped back, startled. My heart was still racing as I looked around in confusion.

“They probably have the wrong door,” I said. “I didn’t buzz anyone up.”

“No, but you have that stupid brick.” He stood from the couch and said, “Stay here. I’ll check.”

I nodded, touching my fingers to my lips. When Aiden got rid of whoever was at the door, I’d tell him. I’d tell him I wanted to kiss him, and I wanted to be with him. I couldn’t wait a second longer.

I jumped again at a screech that definitely wasn’t Aiden’s.

“Quién eres? Dónde está mi hija?”

Is that … ?

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